Mise en Scene: Everything within the Frame

Although widely applauded in film criticism, mise en scene is
an often misunderstood term that speaks literally of what composes the
frame in a film. Why is it so important? In critiquing films, mise en
scene is valued for helping set the tone, emotion and meaning of the
shot.

Elements of Mise en Scene

Set

Props

Actors

Lighting

Space

Costumes

Where Does It Take Place?

The set or location is a key
element for the feel of a scene. The emotions that can be evoked for a
merry-go-round can be fairly uplifting and nostalgic. Or, depending on
the context of the scene, it can be heart-wrenching, if it reminds a
character of bad things in their past. It can be used for contrast if a
murder is going to take place there or if one occurred there in the
past.

What's There?

What are the things the character has in
this particular area? The cluttered nature of the frames within "Citizen
Kane" tell audiences that this was a man who collected things, but he
could never define his life by the things he possessed. On the other
hand, a frame may be barren, which could tell of the emptiness of that
character's life.

Who's Scene Is It Anyway?

Who's there and what are they
doing? Characters may be very active-or even festive-in a crowd. Or,
depending on what they're doing, they could be very alone. How they
act-fast and jerky, or slow and methodical-can tell the audience a lot
about what the filmmaker wants them to feel. Conversely, a character may
be in exile, and his actions may be full of reflection. These proved
very effective for Shakespeare, as evidenced by his soliloquies.

Shadows and Light

If a set is brightly lit, it could
tell something very upbeat, but if the same frame is draped in shadows,
where mysterious things may or may not be going on, it may be telling us
that there's something to dread coming up. The darker lighting and
shadows were well used in older German expressionistic films, and they
were effectively resurrected in the film noir genre.

The Wide, Open Spaces

One effective tool for creating a
mood is not so much what filmmakers fill the frame with as much as what
they don't fill it with. Open space can be very freeing (imagine the
wide, open seas) or they could be foreboding, like when you see a lone
man lost in the desert.It's What You Wear

How are
the characters clothed? If a character is moving through a medieval
scene, but he wears a space suit, that's going to have a strange twist
to it. Usually, a character will be adorned appropriately, but, if not,
there may be a good reason. Uniforms are particularly important.
Audiences are getting more and more savvy, and they can pick up on
inaccuracies more quickly. Watch for what they wear-it should tell you a
lot about what the filmmaker is trying to convey.